14 Years In Business. 100+ Years of Combined Team Experience. OSHA-Certified and Fully Insured.
BTS Tree Services provides professional shrub removal and shrub trimming across Lancaster County, based in Columbia and serving Lancaster, Columbia, Landisville, Mount Joy, Mountville, Wrightsville, York, Elizabethtown, and Manheim Township. Whether it’s foundation shrubs covering your windows or invasive bushes spreading along your fence line, we trim, shape, and clear them with precision.
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Why Shrubs Get Out of Hand in Lancaster County
In the older neighborhoods around Columbia and central Lancaster, a lot of foundation shrubs were planted decades ago and have quietly outgrown their spot. Yews and boxwoods that were knee-high at planting now cover windows, block walkways, and crowd the front of the house, and once they get woody in the middle they don’t bounce back from a quick trim.
Out on the farm properties near Mount Joy and Elizabethtown, the problem is usually the fence lines and field edges, where fast-spreading shrubs take over any ground that isn’t mowed. The clay-heavy soil common across the county holds moisture that lets those shrubs grow thick and tangled, which is why so many of our shrub calls are less about shaping and more about clearing.
Shrub Trimming vs. Shrub Removal
Trimming keeps a healthy shrub in good shape: controlling size, opening it up, and encouraging fuller growth and better flowering.
Removal is the answer when a shrub is dead, badly overgrown past the point of saving, planted in the wrong place, or an invasive species that will keep coming back.
Plenty of yards need both on the same visit, and we’ll tell you honestly which shrubs are worth keeping and which are better pulled.
When to Trim Your Shrubs
Timing depends on the shrub. Most can be trimmed in late winter while they’re dormant, but spring bloomers like lilac, forsythia, and azalea should be pruned right after they flower, so you don’t cut off next year’s blooms. Penn State Extension keeps a helpful guide on how and when to prune flowering shrubs that lines up with how we schedule this work.
For evergreens, hedges, and ornamental shrubs, the right cut protects the plant’s shape and health rather than just knocking it back. We follow the same proper pruning practices on shrubs that we use on trees.
Removing Invasive Shrubs
Some of the most common shrubs we remove aren’t ones planted on purpose. Burning bush, bush honeysuckle, privet, and multiflora rose spread fast across Lancaster County, crowd out desirable plants, and take over fence lines and wood edges if nothing stops them. Cutting them once isn’t enough, since many resprout from the base. We remove them properly so they stay gone, following Penn State’s guidance on managing common invasive shrubs.
The Shrub Removal and Trimming Process: What Homeowners Can Expect
- A free, on-site estimate with a written, flat-rate price
- Honest advice on which shrubs to keep and which to remove
- Clean, proper cuts that keep healthy shrubs looking their best
- Full removal of roots and stumps when a shrub is coming out
- Careful protection of your lawn, beds, and hardscape
- Complete cleanup, with all clippings and debris hauled away
Why Lancaster County Chooses BTS Tree Services for Shrub Removal
A Father-Son Team, Not a Franchise
Fourteen years in business and still run by the same family that started it. When you call, you get the people who show up and do the work, not a call center reading a script.
OSHA Certified, Safety-First Crews
Our crews follow OSHA guidelines on every job, whether it’s a row of hedges or a tree over the house.
No-Surprise, Flat-Rate Pricing
What we quote is what you pay. Every estimate is free, written, and flat-rate, with no hourly surprises once the crew arrives.
Respectful of Your Property
We treat your yard like our own, protecting beds, lawns, and walkways and leaving the site clean when we go.
Recognized Locally
Second place in the Reader’s Choice awards, and hundreds of satisfied clients across Lancaster County.
